The Next Wave of Healthcare Evolution: Accounting ERP Solutions Becomes a Top Priority

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1 The Next Wave of Healthcare Evolution: Accounting ERP Solutions Becomes a Top Priority

2 Table of Contents Investment in ERP is trending up in the healthcare industry... 2 Why has Healthcare Accounting ERP become a priority?... 3 Also trending up: Growth by acquisition in the healthcare industry... 3 Meanwhile in the accounting department... 4 Healthcare Accounting ERP results Real Life Example... 5 Visions Business Solutions Delivers a Healthy Outlook... 5 ERP automation leads to organizational efficiency... 7 Making the best choice with Visions Business Solutions... 7 You actually have a choice in both solution and technology... 7 Our recommendation will address current challenges and future aspirations... 8 Rapid deployment and fixed fee... 8 A collaborative process... 9 An expert resource that you can tap today and beyond... 9 Visions Business Solutions

3 In a growing healthcare organization with state of the art diagnostic, therapeutic, and monitoring systems, it may seem strange to think of accounting ERP software as a critical system. Patient care regularly combines technological innovation with personal treatment to ensure that health is restored. Likewise, the financial health of the organization can benefit greatly from the right healthcare accounting ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution. Recent industry surveys show two significant trends within the healthcare industry: an increase in the number of healthcare organizations investing in accounting ERP software and a strategy of acquisition to pursue profitable growth. Investment in ERP is trending up in the healthcare industry Many healthcare organizations are looking to replace or upgrade their ERP systems. A recent HIMSS Analytics* report shows significant growth in operational application investments in the next year with healthcare accounting ERP being one of the top three applications prioritized by executive management. In an article published by Healthcare IT News ( it its not all about you?single page=true), Lorren Pettit, VP of market research at HIMSS pointed to a couple of reasons why healthcare organizations are looking to improve their ERP software, one being the Affordable Care Act as well as an underinvestment in ERP (throughout the healthcare industry) in the past. While solutions like patient billing have near 100 percent penetration, Healthcare ERP investment has been postponed. However with the accelerating amount of reporting required (by both internal and external stakeholders), and the need to manage cash flow, departmental actual to budget monitoring, and an ongoing directive to control costs, healthcare ERP has become an investment priority. *HIMSS Analytics is a wholly owned, not for profit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Visions Business Solutions

4 Why has Healthcare Accounting ERP become a priority? Those involved in the management of healthcare organizations need an ever increasing variety of reporting in order to make strategic decisions on the areas they manage. In addition, there is the mandatory reporting required by government, such as Medicaid and Medicare, as well as reporting requirement that come with Federal and State grants. The responsibility for creating and delivering these reports resides with the accounting department. Without a sophisticated reporting tool within the healthcare accounting ERP solution, the manual activity and hours needed to retrieve and format the data required for reporting can be daunting. Even routine period end reporting has become more complex, especially for healthcare organizations that have employed a strategy of acquisition in order to grow, provide more services and beds, and employ economies of scale for more profitable operation. Often, locations and facilities added to the organization are operating with different accounting systems, chart of accounts, and different patient billing systems. Somehow, the central finance department must collect, adjust, and consolidate the data from each location, format the reports and then turn the reports over to the department managers. Also trending up: Growth by acquisition in the healthcare industry In a white paper published by Intacct, Leveraging Cloud Financials to Support Growing Healthcare Organizations, it notes that, 88 percent of 233 senior healthcare services executives reported that they expect to pursue M&A activity in the next 12 months according to a 2013 survey conducted by GE Capital s Financial Services Division. Anecdotally, at Visions Business Solutions we are seeing the same trends. Healthcare organizations (whether senior care facilities, rehabilitation facilities, hospitals or clinics), are looking to accelerate growth by acquisition. An M&A strategy offers healthcare organizations the potential to gain greater profitability by centralizing and consolidating business administration functions, leverage greater economies of scale when procuring supplies and services, and utilizing an accounting ERP system to help control costs and provide better reporting. Visions Business Solutions

5 Investing in an accounting ERP system is a top priority for healthcare organizations because it equips management with software that gives them visibility into critical data throughout the business in order to better manage costs. The right accounting ERP system can greatly help address questions such as: Which locations are profitable? Which locations are not profitable? Are we effectively scheduling staff? What is our average revenue per bed? Can I spend money for my department this month? Can I hire a new staff member? Are we meeting program requirements? How quickly are acquisitions showing a positive ROI? What are the problem areas that are resulting in a fluctuating bottom line? Meanwhile in the accounting department Meanwhile in the accounting department there is a crush of demand for more reporting and an ever increasing amount of data to be entered into the system. Without the right healthcare accounting ERP system, the accounting staff is buried in information from different locations and entities that must be both entered and consolidated every month. Often, chart of accounts from different location do not map to the centralized chart of accounts; which requires time consuming, manual intervention by accounting staff. Month end and other period end reporting is a nightmare. The more time consuming basic financial reporting is, the more difficult it is, if not impossible, for accounting to provide reporting requested by department or location managers. The longer reporting takes to complete the less time the organization has to analyze and react. Increasingly, executive management is recognizing what Finance Directors and CFOs have known all along outdated accounting systems simply can t address new millennium business models and strategies. Stakeholders, board members, and upper management want the information a powerful ERP can provide in order to pinpoint where poor financial performance is coming from and address the problems promptly. Visions Business Solutions

6 Healthcare Accounting ERP results Real Life Example Tennessee Health Management (THM) needed a system that could handle complex accounting needs for its 90+ locations and eliminate tedious, time consuming manual reporting. Reporting was our biggest problem, said Financial Controller Anita Ricketts. We couldn t get any company wide reports out of the system; nor were we able to do any type of consolidating. If anyone wanted a report, we d have to do the calculations manually, so something that should take minutes to provide, was actually taking 8 10 hours. A month end close could take seven days or more, employing eight staff, and the system was incapable of handling cash management. Visions Business Solutions Delivers a Healthy Outlook During the ERP software search and selection process, THM met with Visions Business Solutions (VBS) and was very impressed. We knew before the meeting was over that VBS was going to be our consultant, recalls Anita Ricketts. After VBS installed the ERP system (Greentree), the time THM spent on processing data was slashed across the board, reports are available instantly, and a previously impending need to hire more clerical staff has been averted. Visions Business Solutions went above and beyond for THM, notes Anita, their experience took us to a different level that we had anticipated. The Visions team, brought value to our organization in many fashions, but minimizing the company s risk of project failure was clearly the most valuable. Visions Business Solutions

7 Would the solution that worked for THM work for you? The before and after was remarkable: It very well could. But one of the things that we pride ourselves on professionally is that we don t take a one sizefits all approach at Visions Business Solutions. We want to make sure that we find the best accounting ERP solution for your healthcare organization. Consider this: if you consult with a solution provider who only works with one ERP system, their recommendation is a foregone conclusion. Think about that for a second without ever talking to you about your requirements, challenges and aspirations their recommendation will be based on the sole product they sell. Don t you want a more objective recommendation that satisfies your specific situation? We ve worked with dozens of ERP systems and do not limit our recommendations to a single ERP solution. Visions Business Solutions

8 In addition to these performance improvements, VBS was able to interface the different patient billing systems at different THM locations into the General Ledger. The reporting capabilities saw dramatic improvement. THM has 60 annual Medicaid reports that had to been created and submitted. These Medicaid reports, which had taken weeks to complete in the past, are now completed in a few hours. ERP automation leads to organizational efficiency Month end close, procure to pay processes, management reporting these are some of the major activities and workflows where ERP automation can help finance departments in healthcare organizations. Healthcare organizations need insight into the overall performance of the organization but also the ability to drill down and examine the performance of each location. Your healthcare accounting ERP software should be able to provide both the big picture overview and the granular level of detail of your financials. Making the best choice with Visions Business Solutions There are five benefits in working with Visions Business Solutions (VBS). The first and foremost benefit of working with VBS is that you actually have a choice; we have experience and expertise in multiple ERP solutions that we ll examine and then make a recommendation based on your needs. You ll also benefit from a selection process that seeks to address your current challenges as well as your future aspiration. Once an ERP solution has been selected, we are able to deploy the system quickly: on time and as budgeted. We'll employ a collaborative process that is documented through a shared collaboration tool. Throughout the process our team of consultants, software and industry expert serve as resources for you. And we continue to be of service to you moving forward. You actually have a choice in both solution and technology Because we work with a variety of solutions including, Greentree, Intacct, and Accumatica, we do not approach your selection process with any preconceived notions. We re not going to shoe horn your organization into an ERP solution that isn t an optimal fit. We re going to research and find Visions Business Solutions

9 the best ERP solution one that will deliver the features, functionality, integration, and technology to meet your needs. We understand that the ERP solution you select does not exist in a vacuum. We ll make sure the system works as it should, interfaces correctly with other mission critical systems, and provides the needed ROI for you to move forward with effective and efficient organizational and financial performance. We are experienced in multiple technology platforms. Whether cloud based technology or onpremise technology, whether out of the box or custom design, we ve invested the resources in gaining an expertise in both types of solutions and their deployment. Our recommendation will address current challenges and future aspirations Solving today s problems are certainly at the forefront of our work with you and your healthcare organization. We ll work with you to identify the areas that need to be fixed and show you how to use solution to save time in your processes, access the need information to be shared through reporting, create reports and dashboards for your staff and other stakeholders, and automate low value activities so that you can devote resources to more strategic activities. We ll explore with you the ways your solution is flexible enough to address future needs your organization may have. The landscape of the healthcare industry is a dynamic one. Having the resources and agility to adjust to future change makes your investment in an ERP solution one that will continue to provide dividends today and beyond. Rapid deployment and fixed fee VBS understands that getting you implemented on time and on budget is critical to success. That s why all of our engagements are done for a fixed fee. This eliminates scope creep and unpleasant surprises. As the point person in your organization, your confidence in the project is crucial for you and the organization. We want to ensure your confidence and deliver your solution without any Visions Business Solutions

10 unpleasant surprises. The quote we give you before we begin does not change. Your project will come in as quoted. We implement according to schedule. That schedule is developed with you and deployed according to the deadlines and milestone we document together. Change is disruptive. But what you won t have to deal with is additional pain and frustration due to implementation delays. Your ERP project will go live on time. A collaborative process The VBS team and your team will both devote a lot of time and energy to your ERP project. We will work with you to create a solution plan and workflow. Part of the reason we can offer rapid deployment is that we work with collaboration and software tools that document discovery, how the software solution automates your workflow, action plans and deadlines, and more. Critical information is in writing and accessible at all times through the collaboration tools. There s no scrambling for notes or action plans. You can monitor our efforts and progress as well as that of your team. Having the information centralized and immediately available is something project leaders have told us greatly enhanced the implementation process. An expert resource that you can tap today and beyond We are committed to earning your trust. We are not in the business of making a sale and moving on we want to be a valued resource for you for the long haul. We are your advocate. We are only beholden to you. We have participated in hundreds of ERP implementations. We have continued to explore new ERP solutions and industry application of those solutions. We invest heavily in developing the highest level of expertise to serve our customers and equip our business with a competitive differentiator that few solution providers can offer. Visions Business Solutions